World Spider Catalog

Theraphosidae Thorell, 1869

Family | ACCEPTED

N.B.: for the year of description (1869 vs. 1870) see Sherwood et al., 2021: 396, Breitling, 2021b published a different opinion; Raven, 1994: 333 considered the Trichopelmatinae (genera Trichopelma and Psalistops) to belong to the Theraphosidae rather than to Barychelidae, but has not provided a phylogenetic argument for this change; Trichopelma was finally transferred to the Theraphosidae (Guadanucci, 2014: 514) as well as Psalistops (Mori & Bertani, 2020: 37), so in fact Trichopelmatinae is now transferred to Theraphosidae; the monophyly of Theraphosidae and of the most recognized theraphosid subfamilies was confirmed by Lüddecke et al., 2018 and by Foley et al., 2019.

Gen. Psalmopoeus Pocock, 1895 urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidergen:00271

type Psalmopoeus cambridgei Pocock, 1895; gender masculine

N.B.: placed, along with Tapinauchenius Ausserer, 1871 in the Sinurticantinae, a nomen nudum (with no type genus specified and none corresponding to the "subfamily" name), by Samm & Schmidt, 2008: 3, in the Psalmopoeinae by Schmidt, 2010c).

In synonymy:

Psalmopoeus longipes (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1896, T from Santaremia) = Psalmopoeus cambridgei Pocock, 1895 (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899c: 896)

Psalmopoeus rufus Petrunkevitch, 1925 = Psalmopoeus pulcher Petrunkevitch, 1925 (Gabriel, 2014a: 135)

Nomen dubium:

Psalmopoeus affinis Strand, 1907l: 87 (f, West Indies) -- Gabriel, 2014a: 133

Psalmopoeus cambridgei Pocock, 1895 | | Trinidad and Tobago urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:002364 TYPE SPECIES

Psalmopoeus cambridgii Pocock, 1895a: 178, pl. 10, f. 3 (Df) Original description

Santaremia longipes F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1896: 749 (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:066068]

Psalmopoeus cambridgei F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899c: 896, pl. 54, f. 2-7 (Dm, f, S of Santaremia longipes)

Psalmopoeus cambridgei Smith, 1987d: 24, pl. I.28 (m)

Psalmopoeus cambridgei Hancock & Hancock, 1989: 52, f. 47 (f)

Psalmopoeus cambridgei Saager, 1994: 59, f. 6B (f)

Psalmopoeus cambridgei Tansley, 1997: 55, f. a (f)

Psalmopoeus cambridgei Peters, 2000b: 89, f. 253-254 (mf)

Psalmopoeus cambridgei Peters, 2003: 274, f. 1093, 1098-1099 (mf)

Psalmopoeus cambridgei Schmidt, 2003l: 204, f. 599 (f)

Psalmopoeus cambridgei Schmidt, Bullmer & Thierer-Lutz, 2006: 8, f. 9, 14 (mf)

Psalmopoeus cambridgei Mendoza, 2014b: 734, f. 16, 24-26 (m)

Psalmopoeus cambridgei Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 64, f. 5-13, 146-182 (mf)

Psalmopoeus chronoarachne Peñaherrera-R. & León-E., 2023 | | Ecuador urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:059587

Psalmopoeus chronoarachne Peñaherrera-R. & León-E., 2023: 187, f. 1A-C, 2, 3A-B (Df) Original description

Psalmopoeus copanensis Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020 | | Honduras urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:051742

Psalmopoeus copanensis Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020b: 388, f. 3-4 (Df) Original description

Psalmopoeus copanensis Sherwood et al., 2021e: 141, f. 8-9 (f)

Psalmopoeus copanensis Peñaherrera-R. et al., 2025c: 495 (removed from S of Psalmopoeus victori, rejecting Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 96)

Psalmopoeus drolshageni Sherwood, Gabriel, Peñaherrera-R., Guerrero-Campoverde, León-E., Falcón-Reibán, Fajardo-Torres, Picón-Rentería & Cisneros-Heredia, 2025 | | Costa Rica urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:066328

Psalmopoeus reduncus Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 71, f. 183-198 (mf; misidentified per Peñaherrera-R. et al., 2025c: 496)

Psalmopoeus drolshageni Sherwood, Gabriel, Peñaherrera-R., Guerrero-Campoverde, León-E., Falcón-Reibán, Fajardo-Torres, Picón-Rentería & Cisneros-Heredia in Peñaherrera-R. et al., 2025c: 496 (Dmf) Original description

Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus Pocock, 1903 | | Colombia urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:002365

Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus Pocock, 1903b: 82 (Dmf) Original description

Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus Schmidt, Bullmer & Thierer-Lutz, 2006: 8, f. 10 (m)

Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus Gabriel & Sherwood, 2019b: 41, f. 1-10 (mf)

Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus Peñaherrera-R. & León-E., 2023: 196, f. 10A-B (f)

Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus Dupérré & Tapia, 2024b: 506, f. 7A-B, 8A-C (f)

Psalmopoeus emeraldus Pocock, 1903 | | Colombia urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:002366

Psalmopoeus emeraldus Pocock, 1903b: 84 (Df) Original description

Psalmopoeus emeraldus Gabriel & Sherwood, 2019b: 42 (species inquirenda)

Psalmopoeus emeraldus Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 81, f. 236 (f maxilla)

Psalmopoeus intermedius Chamberlin, 1940 | | Panama urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:002367

Psalmopoeus intermedius Chamberlin, 1940a: 39 (Df) Original description

Psalmopoeus intermedius Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020b: 389, f. 5-7 (f)

Psalmopoeus intermedius Peñaherrera-R. et al., 2025c: 497 (removed from S of Psalmopoeus reduncus, rejecting Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 73)

Psalmopoeus irminia Saager, 1994 | | Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:002368

Psalmopoeus irminia Saager, 1994: 59, f. 2-5, 6A, 7-11 (Dmf) Original description

Psalmopoeus irminia Peters, 2000b: 90, f. 258-259 (mf)

Psalmopoeus irminia Peters, 2003: 275, f. 1101, 1103-1104 (mf)

Psalmopoeus irminia Schmidt, 2003l: 204, f. 600-602 (mf)

Psalmopoeus irminia Schmidt, Bullmer & Thierer-Lutz, 2006: 8, f. 11, 13 (mf)

Psalmopoeus irminia Mendoza, 2014b: 734, f. 17 (m)

Psalmopoeus irminia Bertani et al., 2016: 1, f. 3-5 (f)

Psalmopoeus irminia Cifuentes & Perafán, 2020: 109, f. 4.8C (f)

Psalmopoeus irminia Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 88, f. 1, 4, 276-292 (mf)

Psalmopoeus langenbucheri Schmidt, Bullmer & Thierer-Lutz, 2006 | | Venezuela urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:039508

Psalmopoeus langenbucheri Schmidt, Bullmer & Thierer-Lutz, 2006: 3, f. 1-8 (Dmf) Original description

Psalmopoeus langenbucheri Samm & Schmidt, 2008: 14, f. 1-7 (mf)

Psalmopoeus langenbucheri Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 92, f. 293-306 (mf)

Psalmopoeus maya Witt, 1996 | | Belize urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:002369

Psalmopoeus maya Witt, 1996: 1, f. 1-7 (Dmf) Original description

Psalmopoeus maya Gabriel, 2018: 36 (removed from S of Psalmopoeus reduncus, rejecting Gabriel, 2008: 10)

Psalmopoeus maya Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020b: 391 (species inquirenda)

Psalmopoeus maya Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 98 (declared a nomen nudum, but the status species inquirenda is maintained here, because it cannot be a nomen nudum, see ICZN Glossary about nomina nuda "... if published after 1930, fails to conform to Article 13", which is clearly not the case)

Psalmopoeus maya Peñaherrera-R. et al., 2025c: 499 (species inquirenda confirmed)

Psalmopoeus petenensis Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020 | | Guatemala urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:051744

Psalmopoeus petenensis Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020b: 391, f. 15-16 (Df) Original description

Psalmopoeus petenensis Peñaherrera-R. et al., 2025c: 499 (removed from S of Psalmopoeus victori, rejecting Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 96)

Psalmopoeus plantaris Pocock, 1903 | | Colombia urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:002370

Psalmopoeus plantaris Pocock, 1903b: 83 (Df) Original description

Psalmopoeus plantaris Gabriel & Sherwood, 2019b: 43 (species inquirenda)

Psalmopoeus plantaris Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 82, f. 237 (f maxilla, probably an older synonym of Psalmopoeus pulcher)

Psalmopoeus pristirana Dupérré & Tapia, 2024 | | Ecuador urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:060533

Psalmopoeus pristirana Dupérré & Tapia, 2024b: 500, f. 3A-B, 4A-F, 5A-E, 6A-D (Dmf) Original description

Psalmopoeus pulcher Petrunkevitch, 1925 | | Panama, Colombia urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:002371

Psalmopoeus pulcher Petrunkevitch, 1925a: 87, f. 2 (Dm) Original description

Psalmopoeus rufus Petrunkevitch, 1925a: 89 (Df) [urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:002373]

Psalmopoeus pulcher Peters, 2003: 277, f. 1108-1109 (m)

Psalmopoeus pulcher Gabriel, 2014a: 135 (S of Psalmopoeus rufus)

Psalmopoeus pulcher Gabriel & Sherwood, 2018: 11, f. 1-12 (mf)

Psalmopoeus pulcher Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 82, f. 238-275 (mf)

Psalmopoeus reduncus (Karsch, 1880) | | Nicaragua urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:002372

Tapinauchenius reduncus Karsch, 1880c: 387 (Dmf) Original description

Psalmopoeus reduncus Simon, 1903a: 960, f. 1109

Psalmopoeus reduncus Valerio, 1979: 302, f. 1-5 (mf)

Psalmopoeus reduncus Schmidt, 1993d: 106, f. 328-329 (f)

Psalmopoeus reduncus Peters, 2000b: 92, f. 267 (f)

Psalmopoeus reduncus Peters, 2003: 278, f. 1113 (f)

Psalmopoeus reduncus Schmidt, 2003l: 256, f. 15 (f)

Psalmopoeus reduncus Schmidt, Bullmer & Thierer-Lutz, 2006: 8, f. 12 (f)

Psalmopoeus reduncus Gabriel, 2008: 8 (S of Psalmopoeus maya, revalidated by Gabriel, 2018: 36)

Psalmopoeus reduncus Mendoza, 2014b: 734, f. 14-15, 21-23, 28 (mf)

Psalmopoeus reduncus Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020b: 392, f. 17-23 (m)

Psalmopoeus reduncus Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 70 (S of Psalmopoeus intermedius [revalidated by Peñaherrera-R. et al., 2025c: 497]; mf f. 183-198 see P. drolshageni)

Psalmopoeus reduncus Sherwood, Logunov & Gabriel, 2022: 215, f. 19-23 (m)

Psalmopoeus sandersoni Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020 | | Belize urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:051743

Psalmopoeus sandersoni Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020b: 390, f. 8-14 (Dm) Original description

Psalmopoeus sandersoni Peñaherrera-R. et al., 2025c: 499 (removed from S of Psalmopoeus victori, rejecting Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 96)

Psalmopoeus satanas Peñaherrera-R. & León-E., 2023 | | Ecuador urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:059588

Psalmopoeus satanas Peñaherrera-R. & León-E., 2023: 190, f. 4A-D, 5A-D, 6A-B, 7A (Dm; f = f. 7B, 8A-B, 9, misidentified per Dupérré & Tapia, 2024b: 497) Original description

Psalmopoeus satanas Dupérré & Tapia, 2024b: 497, f. 1A-B, 2A-G (m, Df)

Psalmopoeus victori Mendoza, 2014 | | Mexico urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:047259

Psalmopoeus victori Mendoza, 2014b: 729, f. 1-13, 18-20, 27, 29-31 (Dmf) Original description

Psalmopoeus victori Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020b: 395, f. 24-31 (mf)

Psalmopoeus victori Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 96, f. 307-310 (f, S of Psalmopoeus copanensis, P. petenensis and P. sandersoni [all revalidated by Peñaherrera-R. et al., 2025c: 495, 499])

Psalmopoeus victori Peñaherrera-R. et al., 2025c: 500, f. 7A-D (m)

Psalmopoeus wallacea Sherwood, Gabriel, Peñaherrera-R., Guerrero-Campoverde, León-E., Falcón-Reibán, Fajardo-Torres, Picón-Rentería & Cisneros-Heredia, 2025 | | Honduras urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:066329

Psalmopoeus wallacea Sherwood, Gabriel, Peñaherrera-R., Guerrero-Campoverde, León-E., Falcón-Reibán, Fajardo-Torres, Picón-Rentería & Cisneros-Heredia in Peñaherrera-R. et al., 2025c: 500, f. 8A-E (Df) Original description

Psalmopoeus zombie Sherwood, Peñaherrera-R., Gabriel, Guerrero-Campoverde, León-E., Falcón-Reibán, Fajardo-Torres, Picón-Rentería & Cisneros-Heredia, 2025 | | Colombia urn:lsid:nmbe.ch:spidersp:066330

Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022: 77, f. 2, 217-235 (mf; misidentified per Peñaherrera-R. et al., 2025c: 501 [not mentioning f. 2, 229-235]; f. 229-234 apparently mislabelled)

Psalmopoeus zombie Sherwood, Peñaherrera-R., Gabriel, Guerrero-Campoverde, León-E., Falcón-Reibán, Fajardo-Torres, Picón-Rentería & Cisneros-Heredia in Peñaherrera-R. et al., 2025c: 501, f. 9A-C (Dmf) Original description